Women's Book Club

Women of all ages are invited to gather together on Saturday mornings from 9-10:30 at Espresso Royale across from Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. During our time together we learn about ourselves and each other as we read about the fictional characters of our books and a variety of interesting topics. At our last meeting of 2006, we voted on our favorite books read during the past year. Our choices were: Atonement by McEwan, The Golden Compassby Pullman, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by See, Stiff:The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Roach, Zorro by Allende, and The Glass Castle by Walls. Hard decisions - our goal is always to list our top 5, and we can never narrow it down that far!


Since our beginnings in summer of 2004, we have read a variety of books,including such favorites as The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night, The Secret Life of Bees by Kidd, The DaVinci Code,The Namesake, Pope Joan, The Time Traveler's Wife,Riding the Bus With My Sister, The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon, The Sparrow by Maria Dora Russell, The Kiterunner by Khaled Hosseini, and The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad.

Our second year brought us more exciting books including Middlesex by Jeffry Eugenides, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult, The Ha-Ha by Dave King. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Ann Fadiman, In Earthen Vessels by Diana Good, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin (accompanied by a trip out to see the movie), In the Time of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger. As you can see, we are about variety!

2006 found some more good reads! We started with Death of an Ordinary Man by Glen Duncan, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, and Breath, Eyes, Memory by Danicat. Late winter into spring brought us Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston, Devil in the White City by Larson, Peace Like a River by Enger, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Satrapi, Atonement by McEwan, Prep by Sittenfield, The Golden Compass by Pullman, and Zorro by Allende. Late spring into the summer found us reading Stiff: The Curious Life of Cadavers by Roach, Madame Bovary by Flaubert, In Cold Blood by Capote, The Pleasure of my Company by Martin, Love in the Driest Season by Tucker, and Witch of Cologne by Learner. In the fall, we read Memory Keeper's Daughterby Edwards, Tortilla Curtain by Boyle, Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Kidd, Frankenstein by Shelly, and Broken for Youby Kallos. We finished out the year by reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by See, The Penelopiadby Atwood, and Glass Castleby Walls. What a year of great books! A further addition to our time together has been an occasional dinner/movie night.

Books on-line to start 2007 are Prodigal Summer by Kingsolver, Self Made Man by Vincent, Water for Elephants by Gruen, Good Omens, and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Fuller.

Most of the books we read are available at the local libraries, and at Pages for all Ages. Mention that you are purchasing the book for a book club to receive a discount.

Women of all ages are invited to join us. Church membership is definitely not required, and we have a number of regular attenders who are friends of CUCC folks. If you'd like to learn more about the book club, just ask Jeanne Ward, Sally Paxton, Anita Stein, Tina Croix, Ellen Kordik, Tracy Heilman, Susan Schnuer, or Denise Oligney-Estill. Hope that you can come and join us for coffee, friendship, and stimulating conversation!